I had TWINS!!! - ASUS ZenWiFi Pro ET12 Router
ShortCircuit
·ShortCircuit
·2023-05-05
·
2,878 words · ~14 min read
0:00
This is not what I expected.
0:00
Hold on, hold on, hold on. Let me get a little closer to you.
0:02
Okay, when you talk, you gotta face me, Lance.
0:04
Oh, sorry, Brandon. Sorry, Brandon.
0:05
The upload's finally suffering a little bit.
0:07
We've got three walls between us now.
0:10
Like, what? Do you want to see my Wi-Fi?
0:13
Obsolete!
0:14
At least, that's the goal.
0:17
ASUS sponsored this video, and we're gonna be taking our first look
0:20
at the Zen Wi-Fi Pro ET12.
0:23
The first empirical proof that I've seen
0:26
that Wi-Fi has completely jumped the shark.
0:30
That's right, my friends.
0:31
This is a $900 US wireless router.
0:39
Well, actually, there's two units.
0:41
Wireless solution for handling anything from a bungalow
0:48
all the way to a 6,000-square-foot residence.
0:52
With just these two.
0:55
Admittedly very attractive.
0:56
Attractive base stations.
1:00
$900.
1:01
How could you justify that?
1:04
It looks so cool.
1:05
Oh, my God. Are those the antennas?
1:07
Yep.
1:08
Wow. Okay, that's kind of cool.
1:12
Also, there's a lot of tech inside them.
1:14
This is insane.
1:16
I mean, part of the reason that it costs so much
1:20
has got to be that they effectively just ship you two of them.
1:25
Here, do you see these antennas, Andy?
1:27
Antennae?
1:28
I can tell you part of the reason for the high price
1:30
is that they literally ship you two of them.
1:34
Can you buy it at one?
1:36
Oh, it's a two-pack.
1:37
That's the ET-12 is the two-pack.
1:39
Two-pack is alive.
1:41
You saw it here first.
1:43
Oh, my God.
1:44
It's an older meme.
1:46
It's an older meme.
1:47
Taken from us too young.
1:48
I think we can all agree on that.
1:51
All right, before we explain why you might need two of these,
1:53
let's talk about why one of these base units
1:56
might be worth about $450.
1:58
Starting at the back.
2:00
For wired technology, right out of the gate,
2:02
it's better than your average wireless router
2:04
having two 2.5-gig Ethernet ports.
2:07
This is going to be great
2:08
if you've got a greater-than-gigabit Internet connection,
2:10
which I just got installed at my house,
2:13
2.5-gig Internet inbound,
2:14
or if you have a couple of key clients
2:17
that might need to run at greater-than-gigabit speeds.
2:20
Say, for example, if you had your main computer
2:23
that you use as an editing station in your home office
2:26
and a high-speed NAS
2:28
that you use as an editing station in your home office,
2:28
that you use to store high-resolution pictures
2:30
or high-bitrate video.
2:32
It's got a couple more gigabit ports,
2:34
all the usual power-in, WPS, on and off.
2:39
Does that just enable and disable, like, the whole unit?
2:43
Other than that, it's got a nice aesthetic,
2:45
which I guess is cool,
2:46
and of course, it is jam-packed full
2:48
of the latest wireless technologies.
2:51
So this isn't just Wi-Fi 6.
2:52
This is Wi-Fi 6E, and that's a really big deal
2:56
because while it's more of an evolutionary system,
2:58
it's built on the same fundamentals as Wi-Fi 6.
3:02
For you, the end user,
3:04
it could actually be a bigger upgrade
3:06
compared to going from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6.
3:09
When we went from 5 to 6,
3:11
the biggest benefits were in households
3:13
with many connected devices,
3:15
whether that's a lot of users
3:17
or whether that's a lot of IoT devices,
3:21
smart locks, smart blinds, all of that kind of stuff,
3:24
because it allowed much more efficient use
3:26
of the available spectrum.
3:27
All right.
3:28
It also adds new security features
3:29
and all that kind of good stuff.
3:31
But where Wi-Fi 6E changes the game
3:34
is it's actually adding more spectrum.
3:36
That's right.
3:37
6 gigahertz is finally here.
3:40
So we've had tri-band routers before,
3:43
2.4, and then in most cases, dual 5 gigahertz bands.
3:48
But this tri-band router is 2.4, 5, and 6 gigahertz.
3:53
And what's cool about 6 gigahertz
3:55
is not only will it never be cluttered,
3:58
but it's also going to get cluttered up by legacy devices.
4:01
So this is entirely fresh spectrum
4:04
for those new devices to communicate on,
4:06
but it's also way wider than what we had before
4:11
in the first place,
4:12
which isn't to say that it doesn't come
4:14
with some disadvantages.
4:16
Because the frequency is even higher
4:19
than what we had before,
4:20
yes, you might see a really nice speed benefit.
4:22
On a supported client,
4:23
though admittedly there aren't many yet,
4:25
you could easily see throughput in excess of 1 gigabit per second,
4:28
and even to multiple clients.
4:30
This features a 4x4 design
4:32
on both the 5 gigahertz and 6 gigahertz bands,
4:35
but it does come with a drawback.
4:37
So remember how 5 gigahertz
4:39
didn't have the same kind of range
4:41
and penetration power of 2.4 gigahertz
4:43
because the frequency is higher?
4:45
Well, 6 gigahertz is higher again.
4:47
So you're gonna get that lightning fast speed
4:49
and lower latency,
4:50
but it will come at some cost in terms of range.
4:53
And I think really that
4:56
is where a lot of the value add
4:57
of a package like this comes in.
4:59
ASUS is acknowledging that the kind of person
5:02
buying a premium wireless access point like this one
5:05
may want that kind of speed across their entire domicile,
5:08
or I mean, realistically,
5:10
you could use a product like this in a small business
5:12
if you really wanted to.
5:13
And that's what makes this product really cool.
5:15
So because both of them have dual 2.5 gigabit ports,
5:20
what you can do is you can actually configure it
5:22
a number of ways.
5:24
You could say, okay, hey,
5:25
I want my modem
5:27
to plug into this one,
5:28
and I'm gonna put this over at the other side of my house,
5:30
and I'm going to have a bunch of devices
5:33
connected to this one,
5:34
a bunch connected to this one,
5:35
and I'm gonna use a dedicated wireless backhaul
5:38
between them.
5:39
That's cool, that's great,
5:40
but it means more hops,
5:41
which means more latency for any devices
5:44
that are connected through the second access point.
5:46
What you can also do
5:48
is create a dedicated wired backhaul between them,
5:52
which is a lot closer to what you would do
5:54
in a commercial environment.
5:55
So you can actually,
5:56
you can actually get full speed
5:59
on every wireless device
6:02
that is connected to either of them.
6:06
Pretty sick.
6:07
Speaking of hardware,
6:07
each of these units has a two gigahertz
6:09
quad core ARM V8 processor inside.
6:12
Like that's the thing,
6:13
it's really the main benefit of a product like this
6:16
is gonna be connecting many devices.
6:20
ASUS sent over internal shots of it.
6:25
That is so cool.
6:27
There's some other software,
6:28
features to talk about.
6:29
Obviously it uses ASUS's extremely robust web UI,
6:32
and they've got a cool VPN feature
6:34
that allows you to VPN through
6:36
your own home internet connection,
6:38
no matter where you are,
6:39
which means you don't have to even trust a VPN company
6:43
with your data,
6:43
and ASUS would have no access to it,
6:45
which is pretty cool.
6:46
And my laptop just booted up.
6:47
Let's see, do I have a Wi-Fi 6E chipset in here?
6:51
All right, all right, hello.
6:52
Yeah, I'm just Wi-Fi 6, not Wi-Fi 6E.
6:55
And that's something to note.
6:56
If you wanna take advantage of Wi-Fi 6E,
6:57
and you wanna take advantage of Wi-Fi 6E,
6:58
and you wanna take advantage of Wi-Fi 6E,
6:59
so the actual six gigahertz band,
7:01
you're gonna need a device
7:02
that was built from the ground up for it.
7:04
It's not just a firmware
7:05
that you can flash onto your old Wi-Fi 6 devices.
7:08
But that's a feature, not a bug.
7:10
Cause like I said before,
7:11
it means that your Wi-Fi 6E devices
7:13
will not be sharing any of that airtime
7:17
with older legacy devices.
7:19
Man, 6E is gonna be just such a godsend
7:22
for people living that apartment life.
7:25
Like you don't probably realize
7:27
how much your neighbors,
7:28
just having a bunch of wireless gear kicking around
7:32
is affecting not just the throughput,
7:34
but most importantly, the latency of your wireless gear
7:37
and the consistency of your connection.
7:40
So if you're trying to do something like stream video,
7:43
I would expect to be able to do it
7:45
at least until 6E gets super crowded.
7:47
Though that should take a really long time.
7:48
I mean, we get seven more 160 megahertz channels.
7:53
Like that's fricking insane.
7:55
Well, hey, in the meantime,
7:57
why don't we,
7:57
why don't we get this powered up?
7:59
What's their setup process like?
8:00
Oh, cute.
8:01
It's got like RGB lights in the top.
8:03
Check that out.
8:04
Oh wow.
8:05
It's it.
8:06
Okay.
8:06
It does not look like it's flickering like that in person.
8:08
Okay.
8:10
When it goes here.
8:12
Uh, I don't know.
8:13
Andy, you want to come with me?
8:14
Our internet box is over here.
8:18
Hey boys.
8:19
Hello.
8:20
Is this the longest cable we got?
8:21
Yeah.
8:22
I just have to hit that TELUS box.
8:25
Yeah, right there.
8:26
Oh.
8:28
Gosh, darn it.
8:29
Okay.
8:30
Where's our longest cable then?
8:32
Oh, that?
8:33
Yeah, that's what we got.
8:34
That does not look longer than what I have.
8:36
All the other ones are at your house.
8:40
Yes.
8:42
Okay.
8:44
Well, let's make the trek again.
8:47
And I ran out.
8:49
This one is even shorter.
8:51
Okay.
8:52
It's coupler time.
8:56
Oh good.
8:57
Yes.
8:58
I need a coupler for Ethernet.
9:00
Oh boy.
9:01
Yes, I know that's not best practice.
9:02
Oh good.
9:03
But damn.
9:04
I don't know.
9:05
I would never.
9:08
I've always got to keep some goodies for myself.
9:09
I haven't hounded him about his shelf in a while.
9:11
Back, back.
9:12
Clearly in some hounding.
9:13
Back I say.
9:14
Do you want your data back or what?
9:17
Jake's working on the vault recovery still.
9:19
Actually, it's going really well.
9:21
Massive shout out Wendell, by the way.
9:23
From Level One Techs.
9:28
What are the odds this is going to work?
9:31
Hundred percent.
9:32
Hundred percent.
9:33
Yeah, I don't think so, Andy.
9:37
Come on.
9:38
Come on, come on, come on, come on.
9:39
Oh, perfect.
9:40
It works.
9:41
Never use admin and password, please guys.
9:44
Do as I say, not as I do.
9:46
Login password is too weak.
9:48
Oh wait, it still let me do it.
9:50
That'd be great.
9:51
If a guy just like popped out of the box was like weak.
9:54
Apparently out of the box,
9:55
it's configured for six gigahertz backhaul,
9:57
which makes a ton of sense.
9:59
Most people go wireless
10:01
because they don't want to run wires through their home.
10:03
But if it was me, man,
10:06
I would find a way to run that wire
10:07
because your Wi-Fi experience
10:09
is going to be fricking amazing.
10:12
Although you wouldn't have to do it immediately, right?
10:14
Like you could run six gigahertz backhaul for now
10:16
while you don't have any devices
10:18
that can connect to it anyway.
10:19
And then you can run your wire later
10:20
once you actually feel like you need the extra speed.
10:23
Oh, there it is.
10:24
Extra slow showed up first.
10:25
How ironic.
10:26
Well, why don't we start with 2.4?
10:29
This is a gigabit internet connection.
10:30
So make of that what you will.
10:34
Obviously this is not the most scientific way
10:36
to do a wireless speed test, but.
10:40
In fact, I'm probably even too close to it.
10:42
Hi, YouTube.
10:44
It should be noted.
10:45
We have a ton of RF junk in here.
10:50
So if there's anywhere that I would expect
10:52
this new six gigahertz band to make a difference,
10:55
it would be in this office.
10:57
Yeah, Linus fast is not showing up here.
11:02
Linus slow is pretty fast.
11:05
So that's cool.
11:07
Dang.
11:08
All right then.
11:09
Just shy of eight.
11:10
A hundred megabit down.
11:13
Looking at around, wow.
11:15
Just wow.
11:16
Okay.
11:17
So Linus slow, pretty fast.
11:20
I'm confused though.
11:21
I don't know why I can't see Linus fast here.
11:24
I'm gonna see if there's any firmware updates or anything.
11:27
Oh, this is as good a time as any
11:28
to poke around ASUS's dashboard here.
11:30
So they've got their AI mesh,
11:32
which allows you to use multiple ASUS routers
11:35
as a mesh Wi-Fi system.
11:38
It's really cool.
11:38
It's a really neat way to bring forward.
11:40
Your older devices and still get use out of them.
11:43
Especially if you have a larger home.
11:45
Their AI protection, blocking malicious sites
11:48
and cool stuff like that.
11:50
Their parental controls were not amazing
11:52
last time we tried them.
11:54
Really good analysis tools though.
11:56
You can see traffic and clients
11:58
and what apps are being used
12:00
and stuff like that on your home network.
12:02
Especially if you have a family
12:03
that can be very useful.
12:05
Firmware update.
12:05
Here we go.
12:06
Okay. Let's check.
12:08
It's the latest version.
12:10
Hold on a second.
12:11
I'm gonna double check
12:12
and make sure this is actually a 6E client then.
12:14
Wi-Fi 6E, AX211.
12:17
Line is fast.
12:18
Not here.
12:20
Well, I'm not gonna lie.
12:22
I am at a total loss here guys.
12:24
Okay.
12:25
Yeah. I can't.
12:26
I can't connect.
12:28
It's been a month during which time we figured out
12:30
there are some issues around Wi-Fi 6E,
12:33
six gigahertz and Canada.
12:36
So magic.
12:39
We are now connected at six gigahertz.
12:40
And I am ready to do my speed test.
12:43
By the way, while this is running,
12:44
shout out Rothstein.
12:45
It's a bit of a belated happy birthday,
12:47
but in my defense,
12:48
this video was delayed by factors
12:50
that were outside of my control.
12:51
Fortunately, nothing about this internet is delayed.
12:54
That is gigabit freaking speeds over wireless,
12:57
ladies and gentlemen.
12:58
Look, I'll prove it.
12:59
I'm gonna unplug this wire.
13:00
Oh my God. It's dead.
13:01
Oh my God.
13:02
This page has so many ads on it.
13:03
The point is look ma, no wires.
13:07
I want Wi-Fi 6E all to myself.
13:09
I mean, I guess that's the point isn't it?
13:10
You don't have to share.
13:12
This is crazy.
13:14
Full line gigabit speeds just about wirelessly.
13:19
Man, I want to change the server.
13:20
There's a, man, what's that really good one locally?
13:23
Yeah, no, urban fiber is not better today.
13:25
I mean, I can go a little farther away
13:26
cause I'm imagining six gigahertz is not gonna do that great.
13:31
Oh crap.
13:32
I mean, it's not super scientific.
13:35
We're gonna have a lab for that soon.
13:36
Here, do you want to show how far away we are?
13:38
How many bananas is it?
13:39
Boy.
13:41
They're not a measure of distance.
13:43
They're a measure of size, Jono.
13:45
And you can check them out on lttstore.com.
13:47
Anyway, the point is we're gonna kinda, I don't know.
13:50
Let's go on the other side of a wall.
13:51
You know, let's see.
13:53
Is it gonna just completely get annihilated by one wall?
13:58
Nope.
13:58
Okay.
13:59
Well, let's go find another wall then.
14:01
Oh, okay.
14:02
This is not what I expected.
14:04
We are now have a good solid couple of walls between us
14:08
and we are still doing nearly 900 megabit per second.
14:11
Brandon, can you navigate?
14:12
Can you navigate this?
14:13
Going on a little voyage of discovery here.
14:15
Okay.
14:16
When you talk, you gotta face me, Linus.
14:17
Oh, sorry, Brandon.
14:18
Sorry, Brandon.
14:19
I'm going behind the sets.
14:20
Okay.
14:21
All right.
14:21
We got three walls and we finally dropped.
14:23
Oh, okay.
14:24
It's still.
14:25
Linus, face me.
14:25
Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
14:26
Okay.
14:27
This is also better than I was.
14:28
I was hoping to show that it would like suck after a bit.
14:32
Cause like six gigahertz or whatever.
14:34
Yeah.
14:35
That's the uploads finally suffering a little bit.
14:37
We've got three walls between us now.
14:40
But that download though.
14:43
Brandon, do you need help?
14:45
Do you need help, Brandon?
14:46
I'm good.
14:47
I'm good.
14:49
Do you want to see my Wi-Fi?
14:50
Your Wi-Fi?
14:51
It's Wi-Fi 6E and it's really fast.
14:54
It's like way over on the ShortCircuit set.
14:56
Who needs cable?
14:57
Well, okay.
14:59
No, there's still a value to wire.
15:02
Stop.
15:03
He knows better.
15:05
Face me, Linus.
15:06
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
15:07
I'm going all the way to the thing.
15:09
Oh, hey, sup, Dan.
15:10
Look at this guy.
15:11
He's like, oh, I'm working.
15:12
Did we finally lose it?
15:13
We finally lost it.
15:14
That's pretty darn good.
15:17
Just like we lost this sponsorship with ASUS.
15:20
Now that we're showing it failing at the end of the video.
15:22
Ha ha, just kidding.
15:23
Thanks ASUS for sponsoring this video.
15:25
You can check out the ET12 at the link down below
15:27
and subscribe to ShortCircuit.